Alan who hosts Sepia Saturday, and the various contributors, are celebrating the 100th Sepia Saturday post today – Hurray! We’re all looking forward to the next 100 too🙂

Trying to keep with the theme of “100”, I rummaged in my family tree to see how many of my ancestors lived to that ripe old age. Disappointingly, only one – my 3 x Great Grandfather, John Stewart, was born in 1796 and died in 1897 in Ayrshire aged 101. He was a farmer at Overmuir Farm, and was also Tree-Climbing Granny‘s great grandfather.

My newly discovered relative in Canada had a visit from other relations on Monday so I emailed some pictures over, and they very kindly emailed me some back this week. I haven’t seen this photo of Granny’s parents before, so I’m terribly excited to have a copy.

Thanks to Janet and Douglas for sharing this (and other photos) with me. Isn’t Chris’s hat spectacular? Her skirt seems to have some kind of decoration (probably not gravy, like if it had been me) and the sleeves of her jacket are very ornate. A very smart couple indeed!

Jo

SEPIA SATURDAY is a weekly meme which encourages bloggers to publish and share old images and photographs. All that is required is for contributors to post an old image (it doesn’t have to be in sepia) and provide a few words in explanation. If you could provide a link back to the Sepia Saturday Blog and visit as many of the other contributors as you can, it would also be appreciated

Isn’t it exciting when you first see a photograph of an ancestors? It’s like meeting them for the very first time. Your great-grandparents are a very dashing couple. Her hat, fur collar, and suit are fabulous. Can you guess a date for this photo? Thanks for sharing, Jo.

Isn’t it exciting when you first see a photograph of an ancestors? It’s like meeting them for the very first time. Your great-grandparents are a very dashing couple. Her hat, fur collar, and suit are fabulous. Can you guess a date for this photo? Thanks for sharing, Jo.
+1

Thanks for your comment, Oliver. Nancy asked about a date too, but I don’t have one so I’m guessing it was taken around 1910 – 1915, Chris was 21 when she married James (who was 7 years older) in 1904. I’m not good at guessing ages!

Thanks Jo. Your images are always beautifully presented and perfectly described. Reaching 100 in the 19th century was no mean feat. I read somewhere that 90% of all the people ever to have reached the age of 90 are alive today – quite a thought. Thanks for being such a great Sepia Saturday contributor.

That’s a wonderful portrait from just after the turn of the century. The hat, in particular, is pretty impressive. The ludicrously precarious headwear of that and the previous decade often seemed alive with foliage and assorted avian fauna, not to mention the remains of various furry animals draped around their shoulders. Marks of an era, I suppose.